1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of exercise systems and communication systems, and in particular, to an exercise system that communicates over a public communication network.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Exercise has increasingly become a higher priority in people's lives in order to improve one's health. In response, fitness centers and health clubs have emerged across the United States. In addition, different types of exercise equipment such as stairmasters and rowing machines have been developed to not only provide physical exertion but also to provide entertainment and information for the exerciser.
Some exercise equipment includes audio and video components to provide friendlier user interfaces. Speakers and video displays encourage exercisers in simulated competition, which could be either computer generated or against another competitor. One prior system includes two competing rowing machines next to each other and connected via a communication link. A video screen on each rowing machine displays two rowing figures. Unfortunately, this exercise equipment is geographically limited to being next to each other or in the same room. Thus, in order for two competitors to interact on the exercise equipment, the two competitors must be proximately situated.
With entertainment games, users do not have to be proximately situated in order to compete. Users in various games communicate over public networks such as the Internet and public switched telephone network (PSTN). One example is on-line gaming where users gamble over the Internet. Other video game systems such as the Playstation 2™ include network peripherals so people can play video games against each other over a communication network.
In the health care industry, certain medical devices are also connected to communication networks. Therefore, remote measurements, such as blood pressure, can then be made over the communication networks. Various appliances are also being connected to communication networks. One integrated circuit can be used in various appliances to be connected to the Internet/Ethernet. This integrated circuit named the “System on a Chip” (SOC) by Rabbit Semiconductor of Davis, Calif. includes multiple serial ports, parallel ports, flash memory, RAM, EEPROM, an Ethernet interface, an IP stack, and a 30 MHz 16-bit microprocessor.
Unfortunately, none of the prior systems allows users to exercise together or against each other that are situated remotely from each other.